Abstract
During the last few years increasing interest has been focused on antioxidants as potentially useful agents in the prevention of the onset and progression of cognitive dysfunction. In this randomized, double-blind, controlled, parallel arm study, the effects of daily consumption of an antioxidant mix on cognitive function in healthy older adults were evaluated. After a 1 week run-in period, 80 subjects aged 60 years or more, and with no evidence of cognitive dysfunction, were randomly allocated to a mix of four bioactive compounds (bacopa, lycopene, astaxanthin, and vitamin B12) or matched placebo, taken orally once a day for 8 weeks. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the changes in trial making test (TMT) scores from baseline to 8 weeks of treatment, analyzed in the following hierarchical order: TMT-B, TMT-A, and TMT-B minus TMT-A. TMT-B increased in the control group (+3.46 s) and decreased in the active group (−17.63 s). The treatment difference was −21.01 s in favor of the active group (95% C.I. −26.80 to −15.2, p < 0.0001). The decrease in TMT-A was significantly higher in the active group (−6.86 s) than in the control group (−0.37 s). TMT-B minus TMT-A increased in the control group (+3.84 s) and decreased in the active group (−10.46 s). The increase in letter fluency in the verbal fluency test (VFT) was also significantly higher in the active group and statistically significant (+5.28 vs. +1.07 words; p < 0.001). Our findings provide encouraging evidence that regular dietary supplementation with bacopa, lycopene, astaxanthin, and vitamin B12 may be an effective dietary approach for counteracting cognitive changes associated with brain aging.
Highlights
Long-term oxidative stress is believed one of the most important factors contributing to the decline of cognitive function often observable with aging [1]
The primary objective of this study was assessed using three primary variables in a hierarchical order in the intent-to-treat population (ITT) defined as all randomized subjects receiving at least a treatment dose and having the post-randomization efficacy evaluation
This study provides encouraging evidence that the daily consumption of an antioxidant mix, containing bacopa, lycopene, astaxanthin, and vitamin B12 for eight weeks could favorably influence cognitive function in healthy older adults
Summary
Long-term oxidative stress is believed one of the most important factors contributing to the decline of cognitive function often observable with aging [1]. Due to the generation of free radicals resulting from normal metabolism, is usually maintained at a low level by the antioxidant system. In some conditions the oxidant/antioxidant balance can be perturbed by increased generation of reactive oxygen species and/or decreased endogenous ability to counteract them [1]. Brain tissue is highly sensitive to oxidative stress because it has a high request for oxygen and has a relative weakness of antioxidant systems. Depending on the biomolecules attacked by reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress can promote peroxidation of protein, lipids, and nucleic acids favoring the onset and progression of cognitive dysfunction during aging [1]
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